Wilfrid Kaptoum

BIOGRAPHY

Wilfrid Kaptoum was born July 7, 1996, in Douala, Cameroon. He is a midfielder in Major League Soccer.

He joined FC Barcelona's youth ranks in 2008, aged 12, after a stint in Samuel Eto'o's foundation. He was subsequently loaned to neighboring UE Sant Andreu, and in June 2014 was promoted to the reserves in Segunda División.

Kaptoum played his first match as a professional on August 23, 2014, starting in a 0–2 away loss against CA Osasuna. He scored his first goal on October 19, netting the second in a 4–1 home win against AD Alcorcón. On October 28, 2015, Kaptoum made his debut for Barcelona's first team, starting in a goalless draw away to CF Villanovense in the season's Copa del Rey.

Kaptoum's first appearance in the UEFA Champions League came on December 9, 2015, in a 1–1 draw away to Leverkusen. In another 1–1 draw game against Valencia CF on February 10, 2016, he scored his debut goal for the first team 2 minutes after coming in as a substitute in the second leg of Copa del Rey semifinals. His goal also served to extend FC Barcelona's unbeaten run to 29 games, breaking the previous record of 28 games set under Pep Guardiola in the 2010–11 season.

Kaptoum sustained a knee injury which kept him out of action for five months. He returned to fitness in December 2017. On January 29, 2018, he agreed to terminate his contract with Barcelona.

On January 31, 2018, two days after leaving Barcelona, Kaptoum signed with Real Betis and was initially assigned to the B-team. He made his first-team debut on October 4, replacing Sergio León in a 3–0 home defeat of F91 Dudelange, for the season's UEFA Europa League.

Kaptoum made his La Liga debut on February 3, 2019, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win against Atlético Madrid. On January 10, 2020, Kaptoum joined UD Almería on loan for the remainder of the season.

On October 5, 2020, Kaptoum terminated his contract with the Verdiblancos.

On December 23, 2020, the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer announced the signing of Kaptoum on a free transfer. He scored his first goal for the club against Chicago Fire on Saturday, October 16, 2021.